I have been a loyal customer and yet they charged me an admin fee plus VAT for processing a parking ticket I had already paid. When I asked for the full refund they said they would only refund ticket charge but not the admin fee. Admin fee without even finding out if the ticket had been paid? Seriously it is a rip off. They have lost a customer here as I will never hire them again. read more

Beware of the alloy scam and small scratches. Masters of the alloy scam and they won't refund your credit card booking fee for a whole week after you give the car back. Aim who had the premises before were great but these guys are the worst. When taking comprehensive insurance they tell you this does not cover wheels or windscreen - they can then charge you. It's a scam. The 5 star review below is for Aim back in 2010 - all the other ratings are 1 star. Avoid using them. read more

By far the worst place I have ever rented from. From start to finish the worst. The person checking us in had the personality of a house plant, the regional manager lied to us and the Managing Director was ignorant and condescending. This is a new company and they have failed on many levels. We were less than half an hour late returning our rental and ended up being charged for two extra days. Being from another country we did not have cell phones with us, we called the agency when we found a phone. Alex the regional manager said that if we leave the car we may not be charged because we called, this was a false promise. Obviously they make exceptions or he would not have said this, or they simply lie to everyone. Attempts to speak to someone above him went in circles as he seemed to enjoy messing with someone from another country. Eventually after I emailed the head office I was emailed by Raza, this person is seriously lacking any sort of client service. I explained everything that happened and the reasons for it but to no avail. Replies sent by Raza were thoughtless and condescending. Stay away from Zoo Cars, they're not worth the risk. Stick with a company that you are familiar with. read more

Rented a car last weekend... 2 small scratches on alloy wheel equals an alloy refurb. Joke. Please note, when I asked them for their fair wear and tear poiicy, they came back with "Referring back to my previous emails, we do not have a "Fair Wear & Tear" policy." Essentially every minor mark or scratch or scuff and they will take extra money from you. Don't bother with them, use Peugeot (car rental) down the road or one of the major companies. These guys are local scammers. Chiswick be warned. I was so annoyed, that I wrote to BBC Watchdog... who responded! :) read more

Absolutely reliable company, good prices, good service, I am satisfied!

Very happy with this car hire company which is based in Chiswick, convenient for where I live. Good personal service with reasonable prices. I hired a Ford Fiesta which was easy to drive, newly cleaned and with very little exterior damage. They took photos of the paintwork which I thought was a good idea. Altogether a pleasant experience and I will definitely hire from them again. Angela. read more

Rented a car in February 2014. Sprung for the insurance which i never do; figured i'd have a little extra piece of mind while I drove on the left. When I picked up the car I learned this was for naught since there was still a $1K deductible or so. In any case, I returmed the car that evening without incident. However I received an email the next day informing me there was a scratch in the alloy to the tune of £65. The pictures were laughable. Not dissimilar to other negative reviews on https://plus.google.com/app/basic/local/+ZoocarsCoUk/reviews?hl=en&socfid=web:lu:unknown:morereviews&socpid=1 . I voiced my displeasure and was pointed to complaint@bvrla.co.uk ; I don't have high hopes. I don't think it was lost on them that I was a tourist and hence an easy mark. Don't make the same mistake. read more

Be warned if you damage the car they take the FULL EXCESS. I scratched the wheel arch on an Astra I hired. A small scratch on one panel. I got a quote of £175 to fix it but I decided own up and told them when I returned the car. They charged me the full excess of £600 claiming it has to be done by a qualified Vauxhall repair shop. Cowboys. I will never use them again. BEWARE. read more

These guys are the best. This is the second time we have rented from Zoo Cars and they are as good if not better than the first time around. Forget dealing with the big chains - my brother an wife rented from Avis - what an absolute stuff up. car broke down, couldn't get help, eventually had to change cars in Birmingham airport... completely useless! Zoo were great, got an upgrade, very cost effective... and for the first time in my life car was damaged [damage on the bumper - looks like we were backed in to] only a little bump but like all these new cars - it will be expensive. Nonetheless, I recommend Zoo Cars to anyone I know arriving in London. They will even meet you in the airport, parked right outside! You don't have to drive halfway to Scotland to find you rental car. Also make sure you have travel insurance that covers your excess. You're simply a mug if you don't. Zoo Cars - 10/10 for me. Same again when we're back in town. read more

A friend over from Australia wanted a hire car in W London for a few days and I remembered seeing the Aim place in Chiswick from the tube for decades. They turned out to be rather lower cost than the big chains, even after paying extra to reduce the excess from £495 (lower than the chains) to a non-scary £195. The car was a newish little Toyota Aygo - a bit noisy on motorways but behaved impeccably. The pickup and drop off were very quick and when taking it back there was no hint of an increasingly common car hire scam - searching for a scratch not noted when you picked up the car and overcharging for it. With that sort of service and price I'll be recommending them to future visitors from abroad. They're also very easy to get to by public transport - District Line or Chiswick High Road buses. read more